


mistletoe.

by pyroallerdyce



Series: i refuse to admit there was a beach divorce (aka all my charles/erik fics) [73]
Category: X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe – Modern Setting, Alternate Universe – Modern: No Powers, Alternate Universe – No Powers, Awkward Conversations, Awkwardness, Bisexual Character, Bisexual Male Character, Boys Kissing, December writing challenge, First Kiss, Gay Character, Gay Male Character, Getting to Know Each Other, Holidays, Inspired by Music, Kissing, M/M, Mistletoe, Parties, Prompt Fic, Prompt Fill, Short One Shot, Tumblr Prompt, Wordcount: 1.000-3.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-11
Updated: 2019-12-11
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:15:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21758932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pyroallerdyce/pseuds/pyroallerdyce
Summary: It's not Christmas if the snow don't fallAnd I'm still standing here three feet smallLose our troubles because after allIt's Christmas timeor:  Charles used to have an acrimonious working relationship with Erik that ended when Erik changed jobs.  Charles is happy that he'll never have to see Erik again, but Hank and Raven's holiday party and some mistletoe have different ideas.
Relationships: Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Series: i refuse to admit there was a beach divorce (aka all my charles/erik fics) [73]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1202509
Kudos: 16
Collections: December Writing Challenge - 2019





	mistletoe.

**Author's Note:**

> happy December from the artist formerly known as porcelainsimplicity. 'tis still me, just a different username.
> 
> Day 11 of my December writing challenge. Today's prompt comes from someone on Tumblr, but I unfortunately cannot tell you who. I had this all written down but I lost that word doc in a computer crash and my attempts to find who authored all of the prompts were only partially successful. This is one of the prompts I couldn't find the author of, so if this is your prompt, please let me know so I can credit you! I hope you enjoy.
> 
> Day 11 prompt: We don't like each other, but we're at a mutual friend's Christmas party and we keep getting caught under the mistletoe together.  
> Day 11 title song: Mistletoe by Colbie Caillat

Charles arrived at Hank and Raven's party late and he knew his sister was not going to be happy about that. But Charles had been Christmas shopping all day and so he had to go back to his apartment to stash his purchases before he made his way there, and when he did that, the trains he needed to take had been delayed. So, he was almost an hour late and he knew that he'd be hearing all about it, maybe not that night but definitely by tomorrow afternoon. He looked around when he finished stashing his coat, surveying the scene before deciding to head towards where all the food was set up. He hadn't eaten since breakfast and he was absolutely starving. 

On his way there, a group of people that he determined were probably already drunk walked right in front of him, one of them stumbling and nearly falling right into Charles, which only caused Charles to nearly fall himself. But before he could hit the floor, strong arms came around his chest and held him, carefully helping him stand upright once the group had made their way past. Charles turned to thank whoever it was that had helped him and found himself face to face with Erik Lehnsherr.

Charles hated Erik Lehnsherr.

Well, maybe hate was a strong word, but he really, really didn't like him. They used to be colleagues at Trask International, where they would clash over every big project that came the department's way and grew to despise each other. Erik had thankfully moved on to a different job and Charles had been happy that he would never have to see him again.

And now he was at Hank and Raven's party, which meant that Hank had probably invited him because Raven couldn't possibly know Erik except through Hank, and Hank had worked at Trask with both of them. Charles would have to speak to Hank about that later because he would have liked to have had some advanced warning that he could possibly be in Erik Lehnsherr's presence again.

“Charles,” Erik said before Charles could say anything.

“Erik,” Charles responded, biting the inside of his mouth as he realized he would have to thank him. “Thank you for catching me.”

“I wasn't about to let you fall,” Erik said, shaking his head at the tone of Charles's voice. “We may not have had the best working relationship, but I'm not a complete asshole.”

“Of course, you're not,” Charles said, taking a deep breath. “Excuse me.”

But before Charles could take a step, he heard the excited squeal that he had been hearing since he was a child. Turning his head towards it, he saw Raven standing there beaming at them. “Raven.”

“I was so waiting for this moment to happen,” Raven said excitedly. “I finally caught someone under the mistletoe.”

“Mistletoe?” Charles asked, looking up and silently cursing his sister when he saw it hanging there. “Raven, honestly.”

“What? It's a holiday tradition,” Raven said, putting her hands on her hips. “Now, you have to kiss each other. I'm not letting you walk away until you do.”

Charles sighed as he recognized the look on her face, the one that told him she was already upset with him and would be near tantrum status if he didn't go along with what he wanted. Turning to Erik, he murmured a brief apology before leaning in and kissing him on the cheek. Sending a deep glare at Raven, he turned and walked away. He really did need to eat and he definitely needed to find a drink after that. 

Sometimes he hated his sister.

**********

Erik was walking towards the table that was serving as the bar when he spotted Charles, and he took a moment before heading in his direction. He knew how awkward the situation earlier had been, and despite the fact that he thought it was probably all Raven's fault, he still felt like he should apologize for it. When he approached Charles, he could tell that Charles was not happy about the fact that they were about to speak again, but Erik just had to offer that apology.

“What do you want, Erik?” Charles asked, his tone clipped.

“I just wanted to apologize for earlier,” Erik said, and the look on Charles's face turned to one of surprise. “I know that was incredibly awkward and I felt that an apology was necessary.”

“That was entirely Raven's fault, not yours,” Charles said. “And I'm surprised that you know how to offer an apology for anything.”

Erik let out a small laugh. “Yes, I suppose it would be. Fuck, I was such an asshole when I worked at Trask, but I was going through so much at home and I sort of ended up taking out all of my frustrations on you and a few others. So I'm sorry for all of that as well. It wasn't really that I always disagreed with you so strongly on everything. You were very often right.”

Charles stood there, incredulous. “What the fuck?”

Erik let out a full laugh this time. “I deserve that. I really do. Perhaps we might be able to move past the animosity now that we're removed from that situation.”

“Apology accepted,” Charles said after a moment, looking up as he tried to decide if he wanted to ask about what Erik had been going through at home and cursing his sister again when he spotted the mistletoe hanging above them. “Fucking hell, Raven.”

Erik looked up as well. “How much mistletoe do you think that she put up around the apartment?”

“I'm not sure but it's probably a lot,” Charles said, shaking his head. “Of course, she would do that. Of course.”

“We can't make her angry though,” Erik said, drawing Charles's attention back to him. “I've seen Raven when she's angry at something. I don't want that anger directed towards me.”

Charles laughed. “I've been on the receiving end of it far too many times since we were children.”

“Children?”

“Raven is my sister,” Charles explained.

“I have met her on many occasions but I never knew that. Still, we can't make her angry.”

Charles was about to ask about that when Erik leaned forward and kissed him. He'd always found Charles to be incredibly gorgeous and he couldn't help but take his opportunity. He could tell Charles was stunned when Erik pulled back, but he just smiled at him. “Would you like to get a drink?”

Charles recovered from his shock and nodded. “I need one after all this mistletoe nonsense.”

Erik held out his arm in the direction of the alcohol. “After you.”

Charles stared at him for a moment before heading in that direction. He was going to get a drink, say thank you, and then walk away.

**********

Charles's plan to get one drink and leave went out the window when they both reached for the scotch. “I hadn't pictured you drinking scotch, Erik.”

“It's all I drink,” Erik said, reaching for a glass. “And I drink a lot of it.”

“Is that about the frustration in your personal life that you were mentioning?” Charles found himself asking before he could stop himself. 

“Yes,” Erik said, filling the glass and handing it to Charles. “It was hard to be happy in a marriage when you really wanted to be in a relationship with a man instead. When I decided that I couldn't lie to everyone anymore, my now ex-wife took our daughter and moved to San Diego so she could be far away from me, so now I only get to see Nina once or twice a year. My parents were less than thrilled with the news as well, and our relationship has been frosty at best ever since. All of that really made me bitter instead of happy and so that's made finding a man to be with more difficult than it already was going to be.”

Erik poured himself a glass and knocked it back quickly as he realized everything that he'd just said. “Fuck, I don't know why I just told you all of that.”

“I understand to a certain extent,” Charles said, sipping at his glass. “I was never married but Moira and I were engaged before I reached the point where I just could not tell another lie. My parents did not take the news well at all and we barely speak anymore because of it. The only real supportive person in my life was Raven, and she was more hellbent on setting me up with men that I'd never be attracted to in a million years than anything else. And my attempts at relationships sound just as bad as yours. So I do somewhat understand.”

Erik watched as Charles downed the rest of his drink before picking up the bottle of scotch and refilling both of their drinks. “Sounds like we might have more in common than we might have thought. Do you want to find somewhere a bit more private to continue this discussion?”

Charles stared at him for a moment before nodding. “Grab the bottle and follow me.”

**********

Charles and Erik had been engrossed in conversation for hours, realizing that they had more than just coming out stories that were similar. They shared a love for the same bands, enjoyed the same types of books, and were both obsessed with William Stryker films. Charles went to pour them another drink just as they started discussing a television show they had mutual interest in when he realized the bottle was empty. Sighing heavily, he set the bottle down and looked up at Erik. “We should go find something else to drink. I'm sure that Hank or Raven have probably put a new bottle of scotch out by now if they had another.”

“Then let's go find out,” Erik said, standing up when Charles did and following him out of the corner they'd commandeered. 

They were halfway to the alcohol when Charles came to a stop, Erik walking into him slightly, so that a group of people could get to the door. Erik looked up while they were waiting and started to laugh hysterically, so Charles turned to see what was so funny. When he looked up and saw the mistletoe hanging above them, he couldn't help but laugh too. “I wonder how much money Raven spent on mistletoe.”

“Probably a lot,” Erik said, looking down into Charles's eyes. “I wonder how many other places around the apartment have it hanging.”

Charles stared at Erik for a moment before reading the expression on his face as invitation, and he reached out and pulled Erik into a kiss before he could really think about it. Erik's arms slid around Charles's waist and drew him closer, and they kissed until they were breathless. Breaking apart for some air, they both sucked in a few deep breaths before they were drawn to each other again, the kiss this time deeper and hungrier. The process repeated itself several times before they heard Raven's excited squeal again and they broke apart to see Hank and Raven standing there watch them. Charles sighed heavily, just knowing that whatever it was Raven was about to say was going to be a nightmare, but Hank was the one who spoke first.

“I thought the two of you hated each other,” he said, bemused. “Apparently not.”

Raven just gave Charles a look. “Go for it.”

She grabbed Hank's hand and pulled him away before Charles could respond, and Charles closed his eyes briefly before deciding to do what Raven had just practically ordered him to do. But when he turned back to Erik to do so, Erik's arms slid around his waist again, a light kiss pressed to his lips. “I live ten blocks from here if you're interested,” Erik said softly.

Charles grinned. “Only if we can have dinner sometime this week.”

Erik drew Charles into another kiss. “We can figure out the details after the sex.”

“I think that sounds wonderful.”

“Then let's go get our coats and go.”

Charles nodded and as Erik grabbed his hand and started pulling him towards the room the coats were in, he couldn't help but think that this was so not what he thought would happen if he ever saw Erik Lehnsherr again. He was pretty sure that this wasn't what Erik had thought would happen if they'd seen each other again too. He just knew one thing – they weren't complaining about it.


End file.
